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Breastfeeding Moms
Get to Know Your Fellow Nursing Moms
By Teri Brown
People have a preconceived notion that the breastfeeding community is filled with Birkenstock wearing, hippie mamas. While there are definitely breastfeeding moms who love their Birkenstocks and embrace the hippie label, the breastfeeding population is far more diverse than that.
Teen Mom
Shelley Maves was only 19 when she had her son Tyler, but she had already grown up immensely in the proceeding months. Her husband, Ian, had joined the military and his unit was in training to go to Iraq. She was grateful that he was able to get some time off and was there for the birth of their son, Tyler. Though she knew it wouldn't be easy given her circumstances and the fact that Daddy would soon be shipped out, she made the decision to breastfeed her son.
"I wanted to breastfeed him for a couple of reasons," says Maves. "The first is that I learned that it would be better for him and his immune system, and I also wanted that bonding experience with him."
While Maves believes that breastfeeding is important for babies, she doesn't look down on women who do not do it. "It is their choice; I just choose to do it," she says. "There were times when it was very hard for me, and I had to supplement with formula, so I understand how women must feel if they cannot do it."
Right now Maves is living in Fort Lewis, Wash., just on the brink of the Cascade Mountain Range and the San Juan Islands. She counts the days until her husband comes home from Iraq and is excited for her son to get older so they can head outdoors more. "I am a very outdoors person, so it will be nice when my son is a little older," she says. "We can go camping and out on the boat. I also can't wait until my husband comes home and can go with us.